Disclaimer: I do not own 'Shadows of Amn', the 'Forgotten Realms' or any characters therein. Wizards of the Coast do, at my last check. Lucky them.
I do, however, own Fritha and certain other characters and plot points. Basically, if you don't recognise it from the game, it's probably mine.

-Blackcross & Taylor

The rule of Three

Fritha lay still, curled upon her side in that gloomy cavern of white linen as she lay beneath her blankets listening to the birdsong that heralded the dawn. She knew they were to set off soon and that she would have to get up at some point, whether she wanted to or not, but still she did not move. Her sleep had been fractured, broken up by long periods of just staring at the darkened ceiling, going over and over the myriad of decisions and chances from the last few days that had led her to that moment and if Fritha was honest she just wanted to cocoon herself within her blankets and never come out again. But that simply wasn't possible and finally she roused herself, moving unconsciously through her morning routine and she was on the stairs before she realised it, trudging loosely down them into an empty common room.

No one was serving at the bar yet and Fritha went straight to the kitchens with her order, two maids arriving at her table moments later with a tray of tea and the first batch of porridge. Fritha nodded her thanks, waiting until the girls had disappeared back into the kitchens before serving herself a bowlful only to scrape the contents straight back into the pot, her dish now smeared with the remnants that would ensure that at least Jaheira's nagging would be one trial she could avoid that day.

The tea was hot and still a little weak, the leaves having not long been added, and Fritha drank four cups in quick succession before she finally felt sated, the girl pushing her chair back to pillow her head in her arms and only lifting it again when the next person arrived at the table.

'Morning, Cernd.'

'Good morning, Fritha.' The druid sent her a concerned frown as he took his seat, 'Are you feeling well? You look a touch pale.'

Fritha sent him a grin that was a stranger to her face. 'I'm not good with early starts. Porridge?' she offered, not waiting for his answer as she lifted the lid from the pot before her and spooned some into his bowl, 'Careful, it's still rather hot –I burnt my tongue,' she added with a laugh, feeling she may as well do the thing properly and she was suddenly reminded of Haer'Dalis and the similar games he would have them play, going about the city pretending to be different people from different places.

The last occasion had led to something far more serious though; the map to the tombs had directed them to troubles too great for any book. She knew Haer'Dalis and Aerie had fought about their little excursion. If they had not gone, would things have been better between the couple? Would he even still be there with them now? But then the child, Mihel, might not have been found in time or even at all.

'Fritha?'

Fritha started to find Jaheira sat opposite, Minsc at her side, the pair at the table before her as though they had suddenly materialised in their seats from thin air.

'Goodness, Fritha, where are you this morning?' the druid continued, though without her usual brusqueness, an uneasy smile instead pulling at her lips and Fritha could see the guilt that lingered behind it. The girl shrugged.

'Sorry, I was just-' though she was saved from thinking of an excuse as Aerie and Anomen arrived as well, her momentary distraction forgotten in the round of 'good mornings'.

xxx

The air was so bitter it seemed to steal the breath from her throat. Fritha trudged along, her neck and shoulders aching from where she had held herself tense all day, braced against the cold as they walked through the forests on the first leg of their journey to Umar.

Fritha rolled her neck, something in her spine clicking unpleasantly as her shoulder screamed in protest, still bearing the half-healed wound from Galvarey's blade despite Aerie's ardent ministrations the previous evening. She felt as though she had been braced all day, throwing herself into things with a vigour she certainly did not feel almost from the moment of waking, the girl sat with the others around the breakfast table, looking over maps and talking blithely about their route, all the time wishing she was back under her blankets, sleeping the days away. She sighed, eyes falling on the pointedly empty space at her side, a pang of loneliness shuddering through her chest. She missed Haer'Dalis.

So much had happened yesterday that it had not had chance to sink in. But that long day of walking had given her more than enough time to feel the weight of his departure and she tried not to wonder what they would be talking about had he been there that day; the last argument he had had with Aerie perhaps, or even how things were better between them now. Or perhaps something completely unrelated: him telling her another tall tale of Sigil or laughing as she tried to teach him some long-forgotten Netherese round she had learnt back in Candlekeep.

Fritha sighed, feeling very sorry for herself; everyone seemed to leave her in the end. Nalia, and then Eriyn and now Haer'Dalis -although to be fair Eriyn's leaving was more her choice than his, and Nalia was much better off now. Fritha frowned, angry at how she always seemed to try and rationalise her misery.

Well, it is surely better than just wallowing in it! scolded her mind in a voice that sounded like a mixture of Beth and Nalia. Fritha sighed, trying to find a smile somewhere within her as though she could trick herself from her melancholy. She knew in her heart she should be happy, despite Haer'Dalis's leaving. After all they had at last a decent lead on their fugitive and she knew she should put all her focus on that, because Valygar led to Imoen and that led to freedom, not just for her friend but for her as well.

And in her mind Fritha saw it, felt it: Imoen was back with her and she was free at last to escape Amn and its warring factions of thieves and vampires. Free to visit Nalia or return to Candlekeep or even take a trip to Waterdeep if she so wanted; free to travel and test and try and finally find her place in the world, her mind reeling with boundless freedom of it all. And then it faded, and Fritha was back in that forest, cold and tired and very much trapped by her circumstances and she almost winced as she felt the longing ache through her.

No, no, none of that!

Fritha drew a deep breath and released it slowly, Anomen glancing to her at the sound, mouth open as though he was about to ask her what was wrong when another cut him off.

'Right, that is probably as far as we should try to manage today,' came Jaheira from their head, the woman bringing them to a halt in a small clearing, 'It will be too dark to easily set up the camp soon.'

According to the map, there were no rivers or other sources of water nearby and once the fire was crackling, Jaheira moved to unfasten one of the two large flasks that were strapped to the back of Minsc's pack for just such occasions. Anomen glanced up from where he was unpacking the canvas to watch Jaheira pour a good half into the waiting cooking pot in preparation of the bland cured-meat stew that would be the staple of all their evening meals until they reached Imnesvale. The druid sat back on her haunches with a sigh.

'Fritha, if you would.'

The girl glanced up distractedly from where she had been rooting through her bag looking somewhat confused and Jaheira gestured to the pot before her.

'Hmm? Oh, yes, all right.'

'By Silvanus!' Jaheira cried, leaping back as steam billowed from the pot, 'I asked you to heat the water not boil it! We have just lost half to steam!'

Anomen stopped, the camp silent as they waited for the retort. But Fritha just stood there, staring back at the woman with an injured look when suddenly she had turned on her heel and swept from the clearing. Just enough time for an uncomfortable look to travel the group and Anomen was striding through the trees after her. 'Fritha!'

But she was much faster than him, especially through the forest, low branches and the tangle of undergrowth catching at him, and it was a few moments later when Anomen caught up to her, the girl halted before a russet-leaved sycamore, her shoulders hunched and shuddering slightly, an arm across her face and hiding it from view.

'Fritha?'

He saw her start, the girl whirling on him, unexpectedly furious, her face pink and blotchy and screwed up in her anger.

'Gods, Anomen, can't I have a moment's peace? Must all my crying be done knelt before an altar?'

Anomen drew back with a sharp breath. 'You- You cry in the shrine?'

Fritha looked instantly horrified, lifting a hand to soothe, 'No, no, not always, just once- well, perhaps twice -oh, Anomen, will you just sod off!'

'No!' he shouted back, taking a step closer, a hand hovering at her arm as he continued gently, 'Fritha, please, I merely wish to help you.'

She sent him a hard look. 'Gorion is dead, Anomen, and you make a poor replacement.'

Anomen flushed, the sting of her words almost lost in the challenge they seemed to present him. He swallowed dryly. 'I- I do not seek to be a father to you, Fritha, I… I want-'

Distant shouts and the clash of metal cut him off, Fritha's attention snapping to the direction of the camp from which she had just stormed.

'What the-?'

An instant later and she had drawn her sword and was racing back to the others at a pace he could not match.

Anomen ran after her, the clamour of people fighting growing louder in the air. Ahead, their camp was coming into view, a muddle of figures before them and engaged in a furious battle. Their assailants looked to have once had the advantage of numbers, though it was swiftly being chipped away at, two bodies already sprawled on the muddy ground, the others stepping over them as they fought, Minsc opposite a man in chain who was skilfully wielding an axe in each hand, Cernd and Jaheira similarly engaged, struggling to hold back three lightly armoured fighters between them, Aerie stood behind the three, her lips moving in a constant chant to maintain the shimmering blue shield before them which was keeping the arrows of a halfling archer at bay. While, on the edge of the clearing, a tall man in heavy leather armour was stood, his back to them, face pink under a thatch of auburn hair as he bellowed orders over the din.

'Don't mark the druid too badly; we'll need proof. Yinka, Nual spread out and find that half-elven girl, she can't be far-'

Anomen considered the irony of his words was likely lost on him, the man not even given the time to turn and parry the blow as Fritha suddenly arrived behind him, placing her blade neatly under the rim of his cuirass to stab him through the back with a furious look.

'It's her!' someone cried over his scream, Anomen finally reaching the clearing to see one of the men who had been fighting the druids and a woman both circling Fritha warily, each armed with a sword and looking comfortable enough wielding them, and yet for all that they seemed wary of engaging the girl. Anomen could possibly see why though, Fritha possessed of a cold fury he had not seen in her before.

The decision was made for them though, Fritha stepping forward to engage the man, the pair trading only a few cursory blows before he was promptly dispatched, the woman's shout drowning out his cry as she turned and fled and those still remaining seemed to lose what nerve they had left, turning to run after her.

There seemed an unspoken understanding amongst their group that there would be no pursuit, everyone stood about staring at each other or the bodies that lay here and there about the clearing, the sudden and seemingly groundless attack leaving everyone rather dazed.

'Who in the Hells were that lot?' asked Fritha eventually, the girl crouching to wipe her blade clean on its last victim's tunic.

But silence followed, no one seeming to have an answer for her and Cernd crossed to the body of the red-haired man, crouching to search his pockets before he rose, opening out a sheet of parchment as he did so, the druid reading from it until his face was the same colour as the paper.

'Well?' demanded Jaheira impatiently. Cernd swallowed.

'It is a bounty notice… for you and Fritha.'

'They've put a bounty out on Jaheira?' Fritha snorted, something about her manner hardening, 'Someone's tired of living. Here, let's have a look then. Let it be known to all those of mercenary intent that the Harpers of Athkatla will pay one thousand gold pieces for the proof of death of the fugitive, Jaheira of Tethyr and the deliverance, alive, of her companion… the Bhaalspawn, Fritha of Candlekeep.' The girl sighed, crumpling the note up and tossing it into the fire. 'Great, just great.'

Cernd turned to Jaheira with a frown.

'Did you suspect this could happen?'

The woman shook her head, eyes still trained on the girl before her, voice quiet.

'No, not at all. This is most unlike the Harpers, we would usually deal with our own problems, especially when the life of one of our own had been taken. Though for them to hire others is not unheard of; the seniors must have given approval for the bounty to be raised.'

'Boo thinks that maybe they just want to make life difficult for us.'

'Well, they've certainly done that,' said Fritha bitterly. Anomen watched as she rubbed her hands briskly over her still pink face and up to rake through her hair, holding them there a moment before clapping her palms together sharply.

'Right, start packing up, someone douse the fire; we'll need to put some distance between us and here just in case they have some friends roaming about -though I doubt it from their number and the sum of the bounty.'

Slowly the group dispersed to carry out her orders, Anomen collecting the pot from where it had been kicked across the clearing before moving to her side, Fritha now crouched over her bag as she repacked her belongings. He fumbled with the worn iron handle a moment, trying to find the words.

'Fritha, are you-? I mean, this news-'

'I'm fine, Anomen,' she sighed tersely, no pause to her packing, 'It is not as though this is the first time, after all.'

'Sorry?'

Fritha glanced up to send him an unreadable look, before she was rooting in her bag once more to produce the small green book he knew served as her journal, the girl taking a neat square of parchment from the back.

'Here, this was the first bounty notice ever placed upon me, only, what, eight months or so ago now, back in the spring.' She opened it out, glancing it over with an almost fond smile before showing it to him. 'Ah look, they were only offering fifty gold pieces in the outset. By the time I'd reached the Gate, it had risen to over two thousand and we had left a trail of dead bounty hunters all the way up the Sword Coast.' She refolded the parchment back along the creases, placing it back in the book and returning them both to her bag.

'Not a good feeling, having to constantly watch your back…'

xxx

That night was a restless one, the group travelling on for a few more miles until Jaheira felt there was enough distance between them, everyone hastily setting up a camp in the twilight to share a meagre supper of dry rations before they bedded down, two to a watch.

And things did not get any better over the next couple of days as they made their way through the wilds to Umar. The whole group was tense and, though no one voiced as much, they all knew it was just a matter of time before the next attack. The weather was bitterly cold and there was not one among them who was not tired, Fritha especially, who always seemed to be awake whenever they took their rest, the girl volunteering for the first watch the previous night with Cernd, yet she had already been up and tending the fire when Anomen had awoken to take the last one with Aerie that morning.

The knight glanced back to where Fritha was walking alone but a few paces behind him. She had been withdrawn ever since that first attack, strangely neither Jaheira nor Aerie making any attempt to coax her out, though perhaps that was not so unusual when he considered what had passed between the three lately. Anomen knew it was a breach that would have been filled by Haer'Dalis had he still been with them and he hated the tiefling all the more for the fact. Anomen had tried to help himself and Fritha was as willing to talk as usual, but she still seemed only half there. Smiles held an air of the forced about them and more than once he had started her some private dream, her eyes staring out at something he could not see.

Anomen glanced back again, the girl slightly stooped under the weight of her cloak and coat and pack, trudging behind him as though she was only just awake enough to keep walking. He slowed his pace, waiting for her to draw level, the man heartened as she greeted him with a smile, albeit a tired one, her eyes looking all the darker for the indigo circles beneath them.

'Hello, Anomen.'

'Hello, my lady, I thought to come and talk with you since we have yet to speak today.'

The girl looked instantly nonplussed. 'We spoke this morning, Anomen. I asked you to pass me your cup when I was serving the tea.'

'Well, I suppose that is so, my lady…' he conceded with a frown, wondering if she was somehow joking, though she merely stared back impassively.

'So, what did you want to talk about, Anomen?'

He blinked, her directness catching him off-guard. 'Well, ah, nothing, I was merely wondering how you are.'

'I am fine and yourself?'

'Ah, I am well, my lady,' he paused wondering if he should continue when her manner already seemed so strained. 'I was actually thinking on this task of ours, the retrieval of this fugitive; if all goes to plan, you could well have Imoen back with you soon.'

'She's not back yet,' said Fritha evenly, something about her mood darkening as she turned back to their path.

'Well, no, but you surely cannot help but be thinking on the event, my lady. Do- Do you have no plans for her return?'

Anomen swallowed, waiting for her answer and not even sure for what he was hoping. He knew that Imoen's rescue could be a little as a fortnight away and once Fritha and her friend were reunited, everything would change; he would return to the Order and she... He watched Fritha as she considered his question, the tired look suddenly gone, replaced by a contemplative almost wistful expression.

'I will admit it is something that has been occupying my thoughts of late, but a decision… After we had first left the Gate in the summer, Imoen and I had plans to travel east.'

'East?'

'Yes, we had no real destination in mind. Just to walk east until the Sword Coast was like Candlekeep, no more than a memory.'

Anomen paused, surprised by the idea of her leaving. He had never really considered she would just go before now, though he realised suddenly there was nothing to stop her. Amn was not her home after all, the girl dragged from her own lands by a mage who had clearly not intended for her to live long enough to make a return.

'Truly? So you intend to leave immediately then? I thought you had plans at least to visit Nalia at the orphanage.'

Fritha smiled absently at this mention of her friend. 'Yes, I did, didn't I? But I am not so sure that would be such a good idea now I've five hundred gold pieces resting so neatly on my head. Still, I suppose they could always turn me in and claim the bounty. It would buy a good few pairs of winter boots, don't you think?'

Anomen winced, her blithe bitterness painful to hear.

'I understand that your situation seems dire now, Fritha, but it will not always be thus,' he assured her, trying to ignore the unpleasant truth that she had been the quarry in two separate hunts since only the spring. 'Perhaps when the Lady Nalia is once more mistress of her lands-'

'Then it will be even less wise for her to associate with me,' Fritha cut in sharply, 'Bounties may come and go, Anomen, but titles like Bhaalspawn last a lifetime.'

'You are one of the Children, yes,' Anomen corrected subtly. He did not like that word: Bhaalspawn; it made her seem like a thing. 'But that does not change who you are: the saviour of Trademeet, the hero of Baldur's Gate. This is how people know you.'

Fritha merely shrugged. 'I know that this bounty they have on me will not make it common knowledge, and that even some who do find out will not be concerned about my heritage, but there are just as many who will and you would be surprised how such things can colour peoples' opinions.' She sighed, a certain steel creeping into her manner, 'I am too precarious a friend for Nalia while she is trying to settle in lands.'

'I do not believe she would care-'

'I would care! Nalia has waited too long and worked too hard to win back her keep from the Roenalls only to have me hanging around raising unwanted questions.' Fritha leaned in slightly, a certain sly spite creeping into to her manner, 'They say they do not know who attacked the keep in the first instance. This Bhaalspawn helped them to liberate it, though not before the Lord de'Arnise was killed. All seems rather convenient, don't you think? Perhaps the Lady Nalia did not wish to wait for her inheritance… And then Roenalls are given control of it as per the law and but a month later all this evidence appears linking Isea to slavery of all things. It seems that anyone who crosses the Lady de'Arnise is sure to meet an unpleasant end -and have you heard? She even has that very same Bhaalspawn staying with her now… I know what happens, Anomen,' Fritha continued with her usual voice and an unyielding look, 'I and those I travelled with were sentenced to hang on the most circumstantial of evidence.'

Anomen turned away. There was much truth behind her anger and it made him feel helpless to know there really was nothing he could do to make any of it better for her. 'So what do you intend, my lady?'

Fritha turned back to their path looking weary.

'Who knows? A lot will depend on Imoen, but with the Harpers hunting me outside the city and the vampire waiting for me within it, well, I am not sure Amn is the best place for me to be at the moment…' She glanced to him, smiling wanly, 'But, wherever I end up, I am going to try and find some peace. I managed to live the first twenty or so years of my life without killing anyone; it's a habit I should like to get back into. But,' she continued with a determined brightness, 'you must be looking forward to Imoen's return as well. What was it you once told me? You want nothing more in this life than to enter battle with the banner of the Radiant Heart flying over your head. Once we have Imoen back, you will be free to return to the Order and begin the life you have spent so many years working towards.'

'Well, yes, I suppose that is so,' Anomen admitted, wondering how he had ever been so oblivious. And he was looking forward to joining his friends at the Order, to go on campaigns and serve Amn and justice as he had always dreamed, but at the same time, he was loathed to leave her company. He had never thought anything would have made him have second thoughts about a life in service to the Order, but there she was, all lively hair and tired eyes.

'Hmm, it's funny,' she mused aloud, looking wistful once more, 'everyone seems to leave me in the end.'

'I won't. I mean, I-'

'Of course, you will, Anomen,' she cut in with a smile, 'and so will Jaheira and Minsc and everyone. We will all have to part in the end, because you are committed to this life, and I am not.'

There was nothing he could say to that and they walked on in silence for the last few miles, the stone houses of Imnesvale at last filtering through the trees.

'Should we see about getting rooms for the night?' asked Jaheira as they came to a halt outside the village inn. Fritha nodded her agreement.

'Yes, at least then we'll have somewhere to lighten our packs. We can-'

'Fritha?' cried a high voice, cutting her off and Anomen turned with the others to see a familiar young girl stood at the gate of a house further up the street, her sandy hair tied back in a long braid. 'Fritha!'

'Kaatje!' Fritha called back with obvious joy, waiting as the girl hurtled down the road towards them before scooping her up to swing her round and set her gently down again. 'Kaatje, by this day, I swear you've grown at least two inches since we last met.'

The girl giggled delightedly, still holding onto her sleeve and tugging it in her excitement. 'Oh Fritha, ever so much has happened since you left and I've the best gossip about Vals.'

'Oh, aye, and what's that wayward brother of yours been up to now?

'Oh, Fritha it's so funny, he's got a sweetheart! It's Mari Faircopse! They've been courting since just after Highharvestide and they hope to be married come Midsummer. Look, there they are.'

The girl pointed back up the hill and they turned to see the young couple walking politely down the street arm in arm, Mari noticing their group to send Anomen a shy wave. Valsben scowled and made quite a show of opening his gate for the girl. Fritha grinned.

'Well, well, it seems love has made quite the gentleman of him.'

'Yes, though he still tries to act all tough in front of his friends –something much harder when I am calling him by the new name Mari's given him: Honeylamb!'

A pause where both Fritha and Kaatje were lost to raucous laughter.

'Gods, that's awful!'

'I know. And the best bit is Mari thinks I'm adorable so Vals can't do anything to me when she's there!'

Fritha laughed again and ruffled the girl's hair affectionately. 'Well, it certainly seems as though you've been having fun.'

Kaatje nodded, beaming. 'Yes, and Delon and Blayel have finally come back, so now Delon and I can play together again. They arrived on a caravan over a fortnight ago now. They had had ever so many adventures; Delon told me all about them and how they met you again in Trademeet. But why are you back here?' the girl asked, suddenly looking anxious, 'Have the wolves come back to the ruins?'

Fritha sent her a reassuring smile. 'No, no, nothing like that. We're tracking a fugitive who is on the run from the city.'

'Oh, is the village in danger?'

'I doubt it -he only kills Cowled Wizards. We think he's hiding somewhere in the hills north of here. I don't suppose you've heard if anyone about the village has seen anything strange, have you?'

Kaatje shook her head, slightly crestfallen. 'No, sorry, most folks don't go far from the village and the nearby forest now the winter's coming. Oh, but why don't you talk to Madulf?'

'Madulf?'

'You know, the leader of that tribe of ogres who ran away from their army. They still have their camp in the northern forests; I go and visit them sometimes when our house gets too crowded.'

Jaheira frowned, though Anomen suspected she was likely referring to the journey when she asked, 'Is that not dangerous?'

Kaatje shook her head. 'No, they're really friendly. Madulf said he wouldn't even think of eating me until I was a bit bigger -I'm pretty sure he was joking though.'

'But doesn't your mother mind?' asked Aerie. Kaatje gave an indifferent shrug.

'My mother hasn't cared about a thing outside of dresses and flowers ever since this stupid wedding was announced.'

Jaheira frowned slightly but said only, 'We should probably go and speak with the tribe before the light fails.'

It was agreed, the group taking a moment to secure rooms and unpack some of their belongings before heading north up the slope of the main street. Kaatje walked with them to her gate and probably would have followed them further too, had she not been collared by her mother as they passed, the woman just leaving the house with a basket of dirty laundry on her hip and Kaatje was called away to help her.

The ogres were, indeed, very friendly, just as Kaatje had said, the group welcomed in to the fire and served a nettle tea which had quite a bite and Anomen suspected more than a bit of whiskey or the like had been stirred into the mix to fend off the cold. Madulf remembered them from before, the ogre leader sorry he did not have a chance to thank them for their success in defeating the Shade Lord, and he seemed rather disappointed that he could not be of more help; his tribe sometimes made excursions into the northern hills it was true, but they had seen no sign of their fugitive. Still, he gave them what help he could, marking on their map the locations of several caves and disused cabins that would serve very well for anyone who wanted to be lost for a time, and they left with his assurances that if he or anyone of his tribe saw anything of their fugitive, they would send word to Imnesvale immediately.

Back in the village, the twilight was drawing in, a chill rising in the air though this did little to discourage their most ardent fan, Kaatje clearly waiting for their return, stood swinging on her gate, her thin arms curled about the slats, the white powder of soap residue still ringed around her forearms from where she had been helping her mother.

'So, what did Madulf say?'

Fritha shrugged. 'Neither he nor his tribe have seen anyone fitting the description, but if anyone is planning to winter up there they will need shelter and he knows of a few derelict cabins in the hills that might serve for the purpose. He marked them on our maps for us.'

'Well, that is something at least,' the girl sighed, for a moment sounding much older than her years suggested, though it did not last. 'But if you're finished, we can go and play if you like.'

Fritha glanced to Jaheira who sent her a frown and Fritha turned back to the girl looking sulky.

'I can't. I've got to go in and have my dinner.'

'Well, maybe afterwards-'

'Kaatje,' called a matronly voice from the open doorway behind them, 'Kaatje, come inside now and get washed, it's nearly time for bed.'

'Night then,' said Fritha. The girl sighed deeply.

'Yes, goodnight. Coming, ma.'

Fritha watched her trip lightly into the house and shut the door, an unreadable look lingering on her face as she stared blankly at the wood.

'My lady?'

She glanced to Anomen, slightly distracted as though just awoken from a dream. 'Sorry?'

'Fritha, are you coming?' shouted Jaheira, the woman already halfway down the hill. The girl sighed deeply, glancing to him briefly and rolling her eyes.

'All right, all right, keep yer 'air on.'

xxx

They had left Imnesvale on the first day of a bitterly cold Uktar, the next few days were spent searching the densely wooded hills north of the village, following the markings Madulf had made on their map to the few cabins that scattered the gloomy forests. Most were little more than rotting husks, though a few provided some level of shelter and one or two looked to have been occupied, although not recently, and their search for the fugitive continued on.

If the weather was cold in lowlands it was nothing compared to up there on the hills, though the trees at least provided some shelter from the icy winds and they stayed in the cabins where they could, bedding down each night, piled under blankets and coats and cloaks; the only concession made to the fact they were abed, the removal of their boots.

It was a brave (or very foolish) person who could bear to remove enough to wash more than their hands and face outside though, and not even Fritha had attempted it. Some of the better cabins had allowed for washing, but with only dirty clothes to put back on, they were battling against the inevitable and after a few days of living and travelling in such conditions the unpleasant tang of unwashed bodies was becoming all too prevalent. Something that was being borne better by some than others, Aerie often seen to be observing the muddy hems of her robes with a disheartened frown, while Fritha had pretty much given up on her hair, the girl just braiding the ends to keep it from getting too wild and leaving it to its own devices, claiming that pulling a comb through the greasy roots just made her feel all the more disgusting.

It was the ninth day since they'd left the village, a few hours after sunrise and their group were already up and on the move once more, heading northeast through the forests and currently walking along the edge of an almost vertical bank of bracken that rose to merge into a craggy granite cliff face, the air heavy with a fine almost mist-like rain. Madulf had pointed them towards a group of caves deeper into the northern hills, where the forests fell back and the hills slowly climbed into mountains, sharp brown teeth above the rolling green. According to the map, a nearby river led almost to the very place and they were currently on course for that, if only to replenish their much diminished supply of water. Last night's camp had been made in a narrow ravine, well sheltered from the driving rains that has swept the hillside, though far from any stream or spring, and yet again there had been no water spare for washing.

They were grouped closely as they walked, hemmed in by the trees that grew right up to the cliff's edge, the ground an uneven chaos of twisting roots and potholes just waiting to trip the unsure foot. Though some of them clearly had more pressing concerns on their minds, Fritha paying little attention to their path, gazing down at her cracked dirty fingernails with an absently pained look.

'Look at that, I only just cleaned them last night; how on Toril do they get so dirty so quickly?'

'Really, Fritha, I cannot see how it matters,' Jaheira sighed, sounding rather amused by her vanity, 'put your gloves back on.'

The girl snorted. 'Just because I can't see how filthy they are, won't them any cleaner. Gods, I'd sell my soul for a hot bath. You listening, Asmodeus?' she called aloud, 'Mephistopheles? Willing sinner here, ready for corruption.'

'Fritha,' Anomen admonished with a fond frown, 'Besides, at least the weather here is to our advantage. In the year when I was first squired, the Order sent us newcomers for a period of intensive training on the Tethyrian border. A long month camped in the late Flamerule heat, water-rationed and a whole camp of young men with few facilities available for washing and little inclination to go to the trouble.' He chuckled slightly, looking rather embarrassed, 'You could taste the air in the squires' pavilion.'

A chorus of groans and laughter followed, Anomen looking quite pleased he had been able to entertain them, Fritha laughing even as she pulled a face. 'That's disgusting!'

'Come now, why be offended by such natural matters,' Cernd offered with a mild smile, 'The way some people feel they must mask their own scent with another -the animals and birds do not pretend to such airs and we are all but children of Nature.'

'Or even less in some cases,' quipped Fritha, 'I am more mud than girl at the moment. It's all right for you two,' she accused, 'Do druid's have some sort of power granted to them by Silvanus where by they wear the dirt rather than just being caked in it?' She fixed Jaheira with an exaggeratedly green-eyed glare, 'Almost a tenday's travelling and you just have this sort of delicately smudged air, where as I look increasingly like the Wild Woman of Chult!'

Jaheira seemed quite flattered, the women smiling indulgently. 'Well, as with many things, it comes with practise-'

'Hold, murderers, and let justice take its rightful measure!'

And suddenly they were surrounded, armed men springing from the tall bracken next to them, a couple dropping from trees, and Fritha counted six before her attention was pulled once more to the speaker, a woman of middling years; narrow-eyed and full-lipped, her dark blonde hair scraped tightly back from her lined forehead. She and her companions seemed as wayworn as they did and Fritha wondered absently just how long they had been following them before laying this ambush.

Jaheira looked astounded and by more than just the abruptness of the attack. 'Reviane?'

The woman nodded grimly. 'Yes, Jaheira, it is I and, though it pains me to do this, a traitor's death is what you deserve.'

'Wait!' cried Jaheira as both sides about her drew their weapons, 'I know why you have come, but you must understand; they left me no choice! Galvarey had me bring Fritha to the hold in Athkatla on the pretence of determining whether she was any threat, but he had no intention of letting her leave once there.'

'Ah, yes,' Reviane continued, eyes running slowly over Fritha, 'the godchild. The sage, Ramas, and his notes tell a different story though. That the assessment did indeed take place and when the girl was proved to be a risk you turned upon you fellow Harpers and slaughtered them-'

'That is not true!' shouted Fritha. The woman glanced to her with a look of utter contempt.

'And why would Ramas lie?'

'Because Galvarey was a fool bent only on advancing his own station!' snapped Jaheira, her anger seemingly overwhelming any continuing desire to calm the situation, 'Ask Dermin! Ask Dermin how Galvarey badgered me for weeks, trying to get me to bring the girl to him. He knew the seniors would perceive the arrest of one of the Children favourably and no doubt Ramas had been promised a share of whatever honours Galvarey would receive. The test they gave her was biased! Anyone who took it would have been found guilty.' Jaheira sent the woman a calculating look. 'Who gave the order for this bounty to be placed upon us?'

Reviane's lined face was a stony mask 'The business of the Harpers is no longer your concern now, traitor! You have chosen to stand against your own with this- this Bhaalspawn-'

'Do not call her that!' shouted Anomen.

'-And you must suffer the consequences!'

Jaheira shook her head, slow and pained.

'Please, do not do this, Reviane. You know me, you know I would not have done this had I any other choice; Harpers seek the truth-'

'Harpers do not kill their own, either!'

Fritha snorted, drawing her sword. 'I hope the irony of your attack isn't lost to you then.'

'Learn to appreciate silence, Bhaalspawn,' Reviane sneered, slowing drawing her own blade, 'there will be much of it in that box they have waiting for you. Enough of this! Death to the killers of Harpers!'

And at this rallying cry, they surged down from the bank, the two groups meeting in a clash of metal.

Aerie had already loosed a spell, a bolt of energy that missed its intended target, exploding on the granite cliff face behind them in a shower of white hot sparks, the elf falling back as she worked to summon another. Cernd and Minsc had taken up positions before her, using the densely placed trees to their advantages a they fought three men between them, Aerie taking out the group's archer with a well placed spell, while Jaheira and Reviane circled each other, the pair seemingly blind to all else, both staff and scimitar being wielding with a furious speed as the women fought, a raw anger seething behind each blow.

Fritha took a step back, parrying the swipe to her head and making her own furious sweep at her opponent's legs, the thickly bearded man she was fighting having to jump back to avoid it, his tanned weathered face all concentration as he watched for his next opening and Fritha wondered absently how anyone managed to engage more than one adversary at once. Anomen was but a pace from her, holding off both a tall man armed with a sword and women with a stave. But he was still aware enough of his surroundings to shout her name, gesturing to a robed man still stood on bank behind them and almost hidden in the ferns, his hands weaving a complex pattern as the Old Draconic symbol for sleep began to appear glowing in the air before him. Fritha felt a furious anger fill her as she realised for whom that was likely meant.

'Oh, no, you don't!' she shrieked, swinging out at her opponent's head, the man predictably catching her blade against his own, only to stagger back holding his nose as the fist that was clenched about her sword hilt was thrust into his face and Fritha was already past him, the girl racing up the bank and barrelling into the mage to send him flying. He was on his back now, winded and sprawled in amongst the ferns and for an instant they watched each other: him prone beneath her, his arms held instinctively over his head for all the good it would have done, her with sword aloft, every fibre of her screaming for her to finish the thing. A ragged panting behind her and she whirled just in time to parry another swing, her previous opponent breathless from his chase, blood still streaming from his nose to clot in his beard and at her back, Fritha could hear the mage scrambling to regain his feet, the man using the opportunity to retreat further up bank.

She and the warrior were trading blows once more, but she had the advantage on that steep slippery slope and she did not wait long for an opening, cutting him down just as a shrill cry echoed about the cliff face and from her vantage Fritha watched the spray of blood arc through the air as Jaheira's staff connected with her temple and Reviane dropped like a stone.

'Reviane falls! Retreat!'

Fritha whipped back to see the mage already fleeing after his companions and she watched him go with a sinking feeling. Next time they met she may come to regret this day. She sighed, sheathing her blade as she walked back down to the others, her friends slowly gathering around the druid, Jaheira seemingly unaware of them as she stared down at the unmoving body of her former ally. Jaheira crouched down beside her, passing clouds reflected in the glassy stare of her vacant blue eyes.

'Oh, Reviane…'

'Should- should we bury them?' asked Aerie quietly. Jaheira shook her head, a certain hardness creeping in as she threw the woman's cloak over her face like a shroud and rose stiffly.

'No, the soil here will be too thin and we haven't the time. Come, we should put some distance between us.'

xxx

They continued their path through the day and well on into the afternoon, finally reaching the river that would steer their course into the hills, the group much removed from their previous good-humour and they stopped only when a pale violet began creeping overhead from the eastern skies, the chill of dusk drawing in about them.

It was her turn to cook; Aerie stooped over her pack, slowly pulling packets of dried meats and waybread from it with aching arms and longing for the moment when she could sit beside the already crackling fire and watch their dinner bubble and steam. They had rations enough for another good few days, but they had been trying to supplement them with what could be found there in the forests, delaying the time when they would be forced to return to Imnesvale to restock, Minsc stringing his bow in one fluid movement and slinging it over his shoulder.

'Minsc and Boo go hunting now. Don't worry, little Aerie,' he assured her, closing to her side in one step, the elf straightening from her unpacking with a tired smile, 'We shall find you fresh meat in this frozen forest -though we probably should not go alone…' His eyes fell upon the amber-haired girl who was currently crouched over her bag, humming absently. 'Would you like to come as well, young Fritha? We can practise your Rashemi.'

Fritha glanced up with inquisitive look. 'Hunting? Yes, why not, I fancy a change from being the prey,' she laughed, 'Just let me lighten my bag.'

Aerie watched as the girl returned to her pack, humming all the while and unmindful as Cernd and Anomen shared a dark look over the canvas they were opening out. Fritha had been acting strangely on and off for days now, a sort of strained good-humour lingering about her as though she sometimes was acting too normally, and Aerie had to keep checking herself that she did not attribute it to the girl's ominous heritage. Newly discovered for her though it was, she considered Fritha had known for a while and it was unlikely to suddenly begin affecting her behaviour now. Aerie watched as the girl emptied her bag, scattering her bedding with books and clothes. All that time she had been one of the Children, a Bhaalspawn, and Aerie was stunned again by how little it mattered. The elf was sure she should be in awe or even fear of such a revelation, but there was only an acceptance. In a time not long ago she would have been annoyed that everyone but her had known, Aerie once again left out; too weak, too young. But now it did not matter; so much had lost its importance lately. Aerie glanced to the man next her.

'She has been quiet today.'

Minsc shrugged. 'Boo says young Fritha is always quiet, you just do not notice it because she talks so much.'

Aerie frowned; worryingly, that made sense.

'Right, all ready,' sang Fritha, springing up to throw her much-lightened bag across her shoulders with a flourish and together she and Minsc left the clearing.

Aerie sighed turning her attention back to her own pack, smiling slightly as Cernd and Anomen finished putting up the canvas, the former coming to join her.

'So, the task of dinner falls to you tonight,' the druid confirmed with a sigh. 'I fear you will have difficulty surpassing the burnt rice of yesterday evening -I do not care if I must double the number of times I am due to cook as long as Anomen is not forced to the task again.'

Aerie hid her smile behind her hand. 'Oh, hush, it was not his fault. Jaheira and Minsc were off examining those tracks they had found and Fritha was acting oddly again; he just got distracted.'

Cernd nodded gravely. 'Yes, there is much pain in this company at the moment, it looms over us like the shadow of some great mountain. Jaheira is a traitor to her fellows and Fritha to the very world itself if the Harpers are to be believed.' He glanced to her, his tone gentle, 'And how are you bearing up?'

'Sorry?'

Cernd smiled kindly. 'Well, I am aware you are not being hunted by Harpers who wish to kill or imprison you, but it has not escaped my memory that you suffered something of a loss yourself before we left the city.'

Aerie shrugged, turning back to her pack though everything she needed was already set neatly at her feet.

'I cannot complain, I am the one who let him go… Besides,' she continued, drawing a deep breath and glancing to the druid with a determined smile, 'it was all for the best and I am fine. We would have only spent the whole journey arguing. I am sorry that he is not here for other's sake though -he was a good friend to Fritha, like Nalia in the way he could always seem to bring her from her melancholy.' Aerie smiled faintly to herself, for a moment lost in her own memories. 'He was kind like that, though his Doomguard philosophies would have seemed contrary to such behaviour. And he was loyal too, so determined to stand by Fritha over her alliance with the vampires.'

'Yes, and he would stood by you as well… if you had let him,' a voice reminded reluctantly and Aerie feltthe sadness that she had been ignoring for days now finally blossom from her heart. She had been missing Haer'Dalis since they'd left the city, unable to help but hear him in her mind as she'd noticed things she knew would have intrigued or amused him, the long days of walking spent wondering where he was and what he was doing -and she probably would have spent many a sleepless night thinking on it too, had the days not left her so exhausted. She smiled, recalling the way he would make light and threaten to carry her whenever she had complained of being tired.

'I am sure he is missing you as well,' said Cernd quietly and Aerie forced a laugh, going back to her bag and rooting through it with brisk movements.

'I do not think so; he never was the one to dwell upon such. He was flirting with Fritha and I while still enamoured of some other woman in his troupe. No, we are best off apart. We had nothing in common and we were always too different -everyone said so. Now, I was sure I had some ghee in here… perhaps Jaheira has it.'

Cernd stayed her hand with one of his own, her blithe industry not fooling him for a moment, it seemed.

'It is all right to be sad, Aerie, even if you believe you acted for the best. I missed Galia for months after my leaving.'

Aerie shook her head, for a moment not trusting herself to speak or even look up at him as she tried to drag herself back from the brink of the tears she did not want to shed.

'Honestly, I am fine,' she assured breezily, gently easing her hand from under his as she glanced to him with another too-wide smile, 'Besides, I am not the only one who left someone behind in Athkatla.'

Cernd shrugged, turning from her to gaze about the clearing with distant eyes. 'What is there to say? Both the law and the circumstances of the thing are with Deril -and for all I know Galia's wishes are as well.' He sighed deeply. 'At least now I know I have a son; that will have to be enough. Well,' he continued, glancing back to her with a familiar serene smile, 'I will leave you to your preparations, though do say if you require any assistance.'

Aerie watched as he moved across the camp seemingly to engage Anomen, the elf taking a moment to repack her now well-tilled bag though when she glanced back up, Cernd had gone.

xxx

Fritha crouched low, her breath misting in small white clouds as she moved slowly through the undergrowth after Minsc. The ranger had come across the disturbed ground and cloven tracks of a small wild pig, the trail still fresh enough to be worth following and together the pair had been stalking their prey for a good half hour now. She watched her frozen breath, the way it hung a moment, swirling slowly in the cold air before dissipating away to nothing, the groans and whispers of the forest echoing about them. The tired leather of her boots creaked as she shifted slightly, leaning forward to watch as Minsc examined the torn bark of a nearby trunk.

'I wonder, do the Harpers hunt us like this?' murmured Fritha absently, 'Following our tracks, growing ever closer even now…'

Minsc stopped, leaning back on his haunches with a troubled sigh. 'Young Fritha, where do such thoughts come from?'

Fritha shrugged. 'I don't know, my mind just says them. Chatter, chatter, chatter, just like it usually does, keeping me company in the long, long silences.' She laughed though it was not an amusement that Minsc shared. The ranger sighed again and when he spoke, it was slowly, as though he was carefully choosing each word.

'Many people say Minsc is mad, but I bear it because I know that I am not, but you… Boo and I, we are worried for you, Fritha.'

The ranger watched as she frowned and shook her head; impatient; confused.

'I am not mad, Minsc, I am just trying to… to stay bright, you know, like I usually am.' The frown deepened, a hand moving absently to rub her chest. 'Only the weight upon me keeps getting heavier. I have had bounties placed upon me before, but this isn't the same. Those men just wanted to kill me; lots of people want that and though I would very much rather they did not succeed, I know that death itself is nothing to be feared. But this… this is different. The Harpers and their allies stalk us across the land in an endless pursuit. However many times we defeat them, more are always on their heels,' she glanced to him, her look hollow, 'and I am so frightened, Minsc, because all I can see when I close my eyes is the rough wooden lid of the box they're going to put me in.'

She shook her head again, glancing down to her mud-streaked hands. 'I wonder if Valygar feels like this, so trapped and tense and infused with a fear that never truly leaves you.'

'Boo says this Valygar is a murderer; young Fritha has done nothing.'

Fritha snorted humourlessly. 'Not according to them: Death to the killers of Harpers…'

Minsc leaned forward, two strong hands sudden clasped about her shoulders as he forced her to look up at him.

'Fritha please, you are worrying us! Boo says it will be better soon. Jaheira will parley with the Harpers and they will hunt us no longer. She is a good woman; the word of her past deeds within the Harpers will carry much weight. When such crimes are still fresh, the cry for vengeance is loud in the mind and nothing else can be heard. But this thirst will soon fade and then will come the time for talk. Please, Fritha; Minsc and Boo will protect you, but you must be strong -stay strong in your own mind until then.'

She was frowning again, but nodded slowly. 'I will try, Minsc.'

Minsc nodded as well, soundly clapping her arm. 'Good girl! Come now, let us catch our quarry.'

xxx

Aerie let her gaze travel the almost empty camp, the clearing a warm pool of light as the twilight closed about them. Anomen was off making his prayers for the evening, Cernd still somewhere out in the nearby forests probably doing something similar and leaving her and Jaheira quite alone. Aerie watched as the druid leaned forward to add more wood to the fire, the light opening her face in shades of yellow and the elf could see the dull sorrow etched there. Tentatively, she crossed to the fire, sinking down on to her crumpled bedding to send the woman a stalwart smile.

'Fritha and Minsc should return soon and we can start to make dinner.'

Jaheira nodded, eyes not moving from the dancing flames. 'Yes, and they will likely bring a catch; I never knew a hunter so skilled as Minsc… not even among the Harpers.'

Aerie swallowed, hearing the unspoken indication that this awkward matter could be broached.

'Did you know Reviane well?'

Jaheira drew back from the fire with a sigh. 'Very well at one point; she was one of the handful of people who attended our wedding, though she was closer to Khalid than I… What would he say now if he could see what has happened; Harpers hunting Harpers and us forced to kill the men and women we once counted as friends…' She shook her head, quietly despairing, 'This is all my fault.'

'You're wrong,' countered Aerie, the determination to her voice surprising even her. 'You are partly to blame, yes, but you do not have rights to the whole. You were blind to Galvarey's plans. He was the one who lured us there, who tried to trap Fritha.'

Jaheira sent her a twisted smile, her eyes unusually bright. 'You do not understand, Aerie. I knew Galvarey was not to be trusted from the very beginning, the way he would question so circuitously about Fritha and then pretend he had no interest in her. But I so wanted to believe in him, to just put it down to my own suspicions and cling to that old life… the one I had shared with Khalid.'

She made a noise somewhere between a sigh and a laugh, arms wrapping about herself as she turned back to the fire. 'Ah, he was always so much stronger than I, willing to stand alone in the world against whatever would come. He would have just avoided Galvarey, refused to take Fritha to him, but I so wanted to believe in the man, believe in the Harpers…'

'And you can!' Aerie cried, suddenly desperate to lessen the woman's pain, for both Jaheira's sake and her own, 'Galvarey tricked them! And I know the Harpers hunt us now but they are not all corrupted as he was. You said yourself, Dermin believes in you, and others will too; the Harpers are not lost to you…'

Jaheira said nothing, just stared into the fire, Aerie unsure of what else she could say when the crash of undergrowth sounded behind her and she turned to see Minsc and Fritha wending their way through the trees. Aerie forced a brightness to her voice, Jaheira visibly straightening at her side.

'Ah, and our hunters return. Did you catch anything?'

'Ugot!' announced Fritha triumphantly.

'Ugo-?' Aerie began to question as Minsc removed their catch where it was hung from the bow on his shoulder, 'Oh, wild pig!'

'Piglet,' corrected Fritha playfully. Minsc beamed.

'Well, it's very good either way,' Aerie laughed; Minsc's skills never failed to impress her, 'though it will take a while to roast.'

'Yes, too long,' said Jaheira bluntly, standing to fetch up her cooking pot, 'We'll just slice it up and stew it with the last of the onions. Pass it over, Minsc.'

The pair had cleaned their quarry where they had caught it and all that remained was for Jaheira to joint the carcass, the woman stood slicing meat from the bones, the thin strips falling to land with a hiss in the pot that was already set over the fire. Cernd appeared not long after with some interesting looking roots which were quickly added to the mixture, and a heavy stew was bubbling thickly by the time Anomen returned from his prayers with more firewood, the group at last settling down for the evening. It wasn't the most tasty of meals they had ever shared, but it was filling, and it warmed, the tension that had been hanging over them all fading somewhat as the dishes were cleared and the talk moved on to their plans.

'So,' began Jaheira, opening out their map and laying on her knees before them, 'if we keep on at this pace, we should reach the foothills by the day after tomorrow. There are a few caves there and Valygar can only be in one of them, if any, so at least we will have somewhere to shelter each night.'

'And we will be glad of it,' offered Cernd grimly, 'the air will be even colder up there.'

'We will have to be more careful as well,' murmured Fritha from where she was laid upon her back in amongst her blankets, an arm across her eyes to spare them from the firelight, 'Kaatje told me at Highharvestide; that wolf pack we drove from the ruins makes its home on those slopes.'

Jaheira nodded. 'That pack was much weakened by their ordeal at the hands of the shadows; I wonder if they will even survive the winter.'

'Minsc hopes so, but not on us, yes?' the ranger laughed and Jaheira sent him a weak smile.

'Indeed. Now, on the eastern slopes there is a pass that leads into the heart of the foothills. I would suggest we travel east along the edge of this ravine and we should reach the pass the day after tomorrow. From there it will likely take a few days to perform a thorough search of the hills.'

Cernd nodded, though he looked grave. 'I do not mean to be the voice of pessimism, but and what do we do if this Valygar is not there? We will have exhausted all the places told to us by Madulf.'

Jaheira shrugged. 'By the time we have made a search of those hills, we will be running low on supplies anyway; we will head back to Imnesvale and reconsider our position.'

'Yes, Boo says it will be a long while before we run out of Umar to search.'

Jaheira nodded once, folding up the map and returning it to her pack. 'Well, we should start thinking about getting some rest. Cernd, you're on the first watch with Fritha. Fritha?'

Jaheira glanced to her; she'd been asleep all that while.

'Oh, I'll swap with her then,' offered Aerie, 'So, I'm on first with Cernd then-'

'I will take hers,' interrupted Anomen quietly, not even looking up from the greave he was oiling.

Aerie frowned slightly. 'But you cannot take two, Anomen, they are long enough now as it is with us having to take them in pairs.'

'She would do the same for me,' he said simply, no pause to his work and Jaheira sighed inwardly. At first she hadn't been sure whether it was any more than a passing whim, but there was a quiet intensity to the man now, ever since their conflict with the vampires, and there could be no mistaking his seriousness.

xxx

Anomen rolled his shoulders and rubbed brisk hands across his face in an effort to wake up. It was drawing close to the end of the second watch he had taken with Minsc, first he and Cernd and then he and the ranger taking it in turns to walk the perimeter while the other sat by the relative warmth of the fire. Minsc was out on his last patrol of the evening now, leaving him just sat staring at the flames and trying to ignore the restless muttering of the girl laid opposite. That Fritha had been tired enough to fall asleep even before her watch could commence was true enough, though she hardly looked peaceful, the girl curled upon her side, back to both him and the fire as she murmured quietly into her blankets.

She was getting worse -had been ever since they had left Imnesvale and Anomen found himself wishing they could find this Valygar and deliver him to the mages soon if only so her distress would be eased, even if the end result could mean she would leave forever.

He pulled his mind away from this, even the possibility enough to cause him sadness, and he let his attention drift over more idle thoughts. High Watcher Oisig had had nothing but praise for him when Anomen had attended evensong that night before they had left the city and he wondered whether Sarles had started work on his sculpture for the temple yet. The High Watcher had also mentioned that trouble was stirring up in the Cloudpeaks; groups of orcs had been seen along the boarders and there were rumours of some of the villages being raided. Something Erick too had spoken of, and his friend thought he would be dispatched with a contingent of other knights within the tenday.

Anomen wondered if he would have been sent too, had he not been travelling with their band. He closed his eyes a moment, letting the memory of them at their last meeting drift back to him, Erick struggling with an amused resignation, trying to get the drunk Simon back to the Order as the squire serenaded the city at large, Fritha radiant in yellows and laughing joyously. Had his friends heard yet of the bounty on them? They were unlikely to recognise Jaheira, but Fritha's name would be familiar enough. If they had come across it, then they would now know it was she who was one of the Children, and Anomen wondered if they would still be so keen on playing matchmaker if they knew.

A sharp intake of breath from across the fire and the girl herself was suddenly very much awake, Fritha struggling frantically to pull the blankets back from her face until she seemed to realise where she was and breathed a deep shuddering sigh.

'A nightmare, my lady?'

Fritha started again, half sitting to whirl to him and it was only then Anomen noticed how scared she looked, a fine sheen of sweat highlighting pallid cheeks.

'Oh, Anomen, it's you,' she breathed, shaking her head at herself, 'Of course, of course.'

'Are you well, Fritha?'

'Yes, fine, fine-' she glanced to him, suddenly frowning, 'I missed my watch.'

'I took it for you,' he explained, frowning himself as he reached over to draw his flask from his pack to pass to her. 'Here, take some water.'

Fritha nodded her thanks, tipping it back for a long draft before replacing the lid though she did not return it to him straight away, all her focus on thin discoloured braid of red string Simon had long ago tied about the neck in commemoration on their first campaign together, the girl running it through her fingers as she spoke quietly.

'I was somewhere small, enclosed, a box or a tomb, it wasn't really important which at the time. The only thing that mattered was that I was trapped; trapped and no one was coming for me.'

She closed her eyes, a shiver sweeping over her and, at that moment, Anomen had never hated anything more than the Harpers.

'You know we would not let them take you,' he assured her, but she just shrugged, staring up at the pale canvas above them with fathomless eyes.

'Just as I would not let anyone take Imoen. But taken she was… Sometimes things are just beyond our control.'

'I would find you.'

She glanced to him sharply, her surprise mirroring his own at not only what he had just said, but the way he had said it: growled out with all the barely restrained hatred he felt for the world when he thought of her being harmed.

'If I had to tear apart the Sword Coast to do it, I would find you.'

Fritha still looked slightly worried by the base anger that simmered behind this admission, but reassured too; a few words with some feeling behind them doing more than a thousand prolix speeches ever could. She nodded once returning his flask and rearranging her blankets to settle back down for sleep. But even when Minsc returned and they woke Jaheira and Aerie for the final watch, Anomen lay awake a good while longer, just watching her, the blood still roaring in his ears.